The Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI ) has issued a circular on extension permitting the use of digital signature certifications (DSC) for authentication/certification of filings/ submissions made under the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015(LODR Regulations), to the Stock Exchanges, till December 31, 2020, due to the COVID – 19 Pandemic.
The SEBI had received a representation from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) stating that due to the COVID – 19 pandemic and precautionary measures for its curtailment, Company Secretaries continue to face operational challenges in carrying out certification and authentication of documents in physical form.
Accordingly, authentication/ certification of any filing/ submission made to stock exchanges under the LODR Regulations could be done using digital signature certification till December 31, 2020.
Stock Exchanges were advised to bring the provisions of the circular to the notice of all listed entities and also disseminate on their website the same.
